Road grader



ct. '14, 1941. I c. A. CISUSTAFSON' 0 ROAD GRADER Filed Oct. 7, 1940 3Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY.

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 c. A. GusTAFsoN ROAD GRADER Filed Oct. 7, 1940 LE mw IGet. 14, 1941.

INVENTOR.

(M52. 19. 6UJTHF50N BY, A

ATTORNEY.

- adapted to be detachably connect Patented Oct. 14,1941 1 2,258,890ROAD omen Carl a. gunman, Peoria, m., assignor to campillar Tractor-00..San Leandro, Calib n-cor poration of California.

I Application October'I, 1940, Serial No. 360,011 1 towns. (01. 31-156)My invention relates .to road graders; and more particularly tomountlngmeans for the grader blade of such machine to enable endwiseadjustment thereof.

In road graders, the grader blade is customarily mounted on a bladesupporting frame which is connected to the main frame of the machine bylift means providing for vertical adjustment of either end of the blade:and such blade supporting frame is also mountedfor transverse movementto enable lateralshlfting of the blade therewith. The blade itself isgenerally angularly adjustable on the blade supporting frame.

for adjustment of theangle' of the bladewith respect to the line ofdraft of the machine; and in addition, the blade is mounted for endwiseadjustment with respect to the blade supporting .frame. By thesemovements, the blade can be adjusted .to any suitable position'adaptingit for the various types ,of work which a road grader-is called upon toperform. With the exception of the endwise adjustment of the graderblade with respect to the blade. supporting frame, all of theadjustments can be relatively easily obtained on present commercialmachines, by control means accessible to the operatora't the operator'sstation of the machine.

The endwise adjustment of the blade itself with respect to the bladesupporting frame has heretofore been usually obtained by providing aplurality of sets of spaced brackets the blade on theblade'supporting-frame. Such mounting means has heretofore necessitateddisconnectin the entire blade, shifting it bodily, and reconnectin'g itwhen an adjustment was desired, which was very difficult vto perform byone.man.- My invention is designed to obviate this difficulty,

. and has as its objects among others,'the provision of improvedmounting means enabling endwise I or lateral adjustment of a graderblade with respect to its blade supporting frame, which ,mounting meansis of simple and economical construction, and of such character as topermit the adjustment to be made by one man. Other ob I jects of myinvention will become apparent from fa perusal'of' thefollowingdescription thereof.

In general, the mounting means of my inven-- tion for'obtaining endwiseadjustment of a, grader blade with respect to its blade supporting framecomprises rail. and guide supporting means between the blade anditssupporting fr which permits endwise sliding movement of the blade.with respect to such frame. Locking means in stations in the'form ofnotches or recesses formed in the'blade structure to hold such bladestructure in adjusted position. Preferably, the locking pin and eachrecess are tapered to provide a wedging engagement therebetween, andhold the blade firmly in adjusted position.

Reference is now made to the drawings for a more detailed description ofthe invention, in which: h

Fig. l is'a more or less schematic side-elevational view of .aself-propelled road grader in which the blade mounting means 'of myinvention v is employed.

ing means of my invention, looking inthe direction of arrow 2 in Fig. i;f Fig. 3 is a section taken in the plane indicated byline 33 in Fig. 2.V

Fig. 4 is a section taken in a plane indicated by line l-- linlls.2. aFig. 5 is a section taken in planes indicated by line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section taken line 6-6 inFig. 3. F18. 7 is a more or lessschematic view illustrating one way in which the blade structure of in aplane indicated by Figs. lthrough a maybe shifted with respect to to'brackets its supporting frame.

Fig. 8 is a rear elevational view similar to that of Fig.2, of modifiedform of construction.

Fig. 9 is a ection'taken in a plane indicated by line 9-9 in Fig. 8. e

. Fig. 10 is a section taken in a plane indicated by line III-Ill inFig. 8.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational'view of the mount- Fig. 11 isa sectiontaken in a plane indicated byline llllinFig. 1c.

The mounting means of my invention for endwise adjustment of a graderblade on its-sup 40 porting frame, may be employed on any. type'of bladesupporting frame. 'For purposes of illustration, I have disclosed suchmounting means on a'self-propelled motorgrader having a blade supportingframe similar to that shown in my Patent'No. 2,189,286, dated February6, 1940,

which enables the blade to be angularly adjusted with respect to theline of draft of the machine,

vertically adjusted at eitherend laterally adjusted togetherwiththesupporting frame, and

also adjusted toba'nk sloping position at either side of the machine-With-reference to Fig. 1, such bladesupporting frame comprises auxiliaryor'drawbar frame 2 universally connected at its front end by anysuitable means (not shown) to the form of an axially movable pin isprovided to main frame 3 of the machine. Such mainframe is mounted onfront steerable, and titlable or leaning wheels 4, steerable fromoperator's station 6 through steering shafting 1, and on rear propellingwheels 8 drivable from power plant 8 of the machine.

At its rear end, auxiliary or drawbar frame 2 is suspended from mainframe 3 by means including a pair of independently adjustable lift linksIi each of which is connected to a side of frame 2; thus; either side offrame 2 may be adjusted vertically. -Lateral shift mechanism includinglateral shift strut l2 connected to slidably mounted arcuate rack [3adjustable through shafting connected to driving pinion I4, is providedfor lateral adjustment of frame 2. A circle frame It forming part of theblade supporting frame, is rotatably mounted on frame 2 and has securedthereto rearwardly extending beams I1 guide 39. A pin 40 secured to theassociated circle beam 11 projects through the slot of each bracket toprovide for clamping thereof by means of serrated clamping member 4|engageable with the serrations of guide 88 and securable by nut 42,

Means is provided for locking the blade structure in endwise adjustedposition, comprising a having downwardly extending. rear projections 11'upon which blade structure I8 is mountable. By rotation of circle framei8, through suitable actuating means IS, the blade may be angularlyadjusted with respect to the line of draft of the machine. All of theadjustments thus far described can be very readily made by suitablecontrols at operator's station 6, as is disclosed in my previouslymentioned patent.

For some purposes, for example, where it is desired to shift the bladeto reach way out to either side of the machine in the dressing of roadshoulders'or gathering in of material from the outside slope on a,grade, or for adjusting the blade to bank sloping position so asto'enable its heel to clear th ground more readily, it is desirable thatthe blade be shiftable endwise on its supporting frame. The mountingmeans of my invention is designed to accomplish this with ease. Withparticular reference to Figs. 2

through 6, the mounting means of my invention.

v gether, to thus provide a rigid box-like reenforcing structure formoldboard 21.

Rails 26 are slidably mounted 0.. the blade supporting frame to permitendwise adjustment of the blade'structure I8 with respect to the frame.Such mounting comprises upper and lower guideways- 32 in which rails 28engage for relative sliding movement with respect thereto; the guidewaysbeing formed in pairs on each of a pair of brackets 33 each of which ispivotally mounted at the lower end of a circle beam exten-.

sion l1. As can be observed more clearly from Fig. 2, the pivotalmountinz of each bracket 88 comprises a stationary pin 84 secured inhollow reenforcing strut 88 connected between the lower ends of beamextensions l1, and a bearing 31 journalled on pin 34 and held inposition by nut 31. Additional upwardly and diagonally extending struts38 are connected between thelower ends of beam extensions l1 and thecircle 18 to reenforce the structure. .Because of the pivotal mountingof brackets-33, the grader blade mounted on such brackets canbe adjustedas to pitch. For securing brackets" in adjusted position, each of themis provided at its upper end with an arcuatel'y shaped, slotted andserrated flat sided locking pin 48 mounted for axially slidable butnon-rotatable movement in similarly shaped flat sided aperture 41 formednear the top of each of brackets 33; the longitudinal edges of pin 48being chamfered slightly at 48 to permit freedom of movement. The frontend portion 48 of each pin 48 is adapted to project into a selected oneof a plurality of properly spaced looking stations in the form ofnotches or recesses 8| formed in top rail 28, to hold the bladestructure locked against endwise movement. For holding the bladestructure firmly without chatterin the lower side of the front end 48 ofeach pin 48 is formed with an upward taper 52; and the edge 53 formingthe lower boundary of each recess Si is similarly tapered to provide forwedging engagement between the recess and the pin. Such firm wedgingengagement is maintained when the blade structure is locked againstendwise movement by a coiled spring 54 abutting the rear end 58 of eachpin 48.

Each spring 84 is contained within a cylindrically shaped housing 51having welded thereto a flange 88 secured to the rear end of eachbracket 83 by cap screws 58; the rear end 58 of each pin 48 being formedwith a projection 8| about which spring 84 is centered. Thus, eachspring 54 always urges the associated pin 48 into locking position; andin cooperation with the wedge shape of the forward end of each pin 48and the recesses 8|, tight locking engagement is maintained at all timeswhen the locking pins are engaged.

In adjusting the blade structure endwise from any previously adjustedposition, it is necessary to retract-each of pins 48 from engagementwith the associated recess II, and hold it in retracted position againstthe action of the associated spring 64. For this purpose, I provide inthe side of each pin 48 a transversely extending notch 82 in which isengaged a pin 83 eccentrically mounted on a disk 84 integral with ashaft 88 journalledin a cap 81 secured to the side of each bracket 83;the outer end 88 of each shaft 88 being flat sided to facilitateengagement with a suitable tool, such as a wrench, to enable turning ofshaft 88 in either one of opposite directions. Turning of shaft 88 inthe proper direction results in movement of pin 83 engaging notch 82,which causes retraction of locking pin 48 when so desired. Whenretracted and with pin 88 at dead center position, illustrated by thephantom lines in Fig. 4, each locking pin will remain retracted againstthe action of the associated spring 84 because of the abutment which.pin 83 forms at such dead'center position; After the blade structure isadjusted endwise to the desired extent, re-engagement of the lockingpins 48 in the associated recesses 8| can be positively effected byturning of shafts 88 to move pins 88 from dead center position,whereupon springs 84- ways 32. and thus preclude the blade structurefrom running oif of the guides when being adjusted.

In making 'such endwise adjustment of the attempt to shift manually theblade in the blade supporting frame, because such adjustment can bepositively effected by turning circle l6 so that 1 grader blade, it isunnecessary for the operator to I the blade extends diagonally withrespect to the line of draft'of the machine, with one end thereofengaging the ground, In such position and with. the locking meansreleased, the. machine when driven the proper distance toward the groundengaged end of the blade, will cause shifting'of the blade with respectto its blade supporting frame. when shifted to the desired extent, thelocking means may be reengaged in the manner described. Generally, it isdesirable to ,have the bladediagonally arranged with respect to the lineof draft ofthe machine rather than substantially longitudinally thereof,when it is to be shifted with respect to the blade supporting frame, soas to avoid; possible interference underneath the machine; To facilitatethe described adjustment with the blade diagonally positioned, it isdesirable to lean the front wheels and also steer the machine in thedirection of inclination of the blade.

Another way in which relative endwise shifting between the blade and itssupporting frame may be obtained positively, is illustrated'diastructureis provided with a hook ll adapted to engage one end of a chain 12 whichis adapted to be connected adjacent its opposite end to a pin 13 on mainframe 3 of the machine. when the chain is so connected and the bladelocking means is released,'relative shifting may be ob- .tained betweenthe blade and its supporting frame, by shifting auxiliary. or, drawbarframe 2 laterally in the direction of the end of the blade to which thechain 12 is connected, while the blade remains relatively, fixed withrespect to the main frame. Such shifting may be accomplished aaoaaeowhen I is turnedin either one of opposite directions, locking pin .01.may be axially moved in either one of opposite directions to effectengagement or disengagement thereof, depending upon the direction ofrotation of pin 89.

. I claim:

1. Ina road grading machine, a main frame,

a grader bladesupporting frame mounted under- 1 neathsaid main frame,said grader blade. supporting frame being connected at its front to saidmain frame. and beingsuspended at its rear from said main frame byspaced lift links, a

grader blade structure including a grader blade and spaced rails rigidlysecured at the back of said blade and extending longitudinally thereof,

bracket means having guideways in which said rails are .relativelyslidable to enable endwise ad justment of said blade structure withrespect to ,said grader blade supporting frame, means pivotallyconnecting said bracket means tosaid grader blade supporting frametoenable adjustment of the pitch of said blade, oneof .said rails havinga plurality of spaced-recesses, and a locking pin mounted for axial.movement in said bracket means to engage selected of said recesses tolock said blade structure in endwise adjusted position.

. grammatically in Fig. 7,. Each 'end of the blade 2. In a road gradingmachine, a main frame, a grader blade supporting frame mountedunderneath said main frame, said grader blade supporting frame beingconnected at its frontwto said main frame and being suspended at itsrear from said main frame byspaced lift links; a grader blade structureincluding a grader blade and spaced rails rig dly secured at the back ofsaid blade and extending longitudinally thereof, bracket meanshavingguideways in which said rails-are relatively slidable to enableendwise adjustment of said blade structure with respect to saidgrader-blade supporting frame, means pivotthrough the previouslydescribed lateral shift mechanism. Fig. '7 illustrates in phantom linesa laterally shifted position of the blade supporting frame toward an endof the blade to which chain 12 is connected.

Figs. 8 through 11 illustrate amodifled form of construction inwhich adifferent form of means is provided to effect positivelyendwise'shifting of the blade; and a somewhat different form of lockingmeans i provided. Many parts are esi sentially the same as those in thepreviously described modification; and to' facilitate the description,such parts are designated by the same reference characters and thedescription is con-. fined essentially to those parts which diii'erzz-For effecting endwise adjustment of the blade, a

rack bar 8| is welded against plate 25' underneath the lower edge of topraildfi, and engages a pinion 82, secured to shaft 83 which projectsthrough one of brackets 33 and is formed-with a flat sided outer end 84adapted to be engaged by a removable crank 86 by which pinion 82 may beturned in either one of opposite directions. Each locking pin 81 isessentially the same as lockin'e pin 46 being provided with'fronttapered end 41" ally connecting said bracket means to said grader blade-supporting frame to enable adjustment of the pitch of said blade, oneof I said rails having a plurality of spaced recesses, and a locking pinmounted for axial movement in said-bracket means to engage selected ofsaid recesses to lock said blade structure in endwise adjusted position,Y each of said recesses'and said locking pin being tapered to providewedging engagement therebeendwise sliding movement to enable endwiseadjustment ofsaid blade structure with respect to saidgrader bladesupporting frame, and means.

for effecting said endwise adjustment includfor connection between saidblade structure and said main frameto hold said blade structure adaptedto engage a selected one of tapered recesses 5!, but it is not springpressed. However, it is formed with a threaded aperture having threadedengagement with a pin 88 integral with a. disk 9|, journalled. inbracket" and clamped in position by a cap- 82 secured to bracket 33 bycap screws 93. The outer projecting end of pin 89 is flat sided toenable engagement by a suitfor turning of the'pin. to. said drawbarframe,

able tool such as a wrench a member independent of said lift linksadapted relatively fixed with respect to said main frame while saidgraderblade supporting frame is laterally shifted.

- 4. In aroad grading machine, a main frame, a

grader-blade supporting frame mounted underneath said-main framecomprising a drawbar frame and a circle frame rotatably mounted on saiddrawbar frame being spect thereto, a grader blade structure; rail andmovably connected at its front to said main frame and being suspended atits rear from said main frame by spaced lift links, said circle frameincluding a pair of downwardly extending membars, a grader bladestructure including a grader blade and spaced rails rigidly secured atthe back of said blade and extending longitudinally thereof, a pair ofbrackets having guideways in which said rails are relatively slidably toenable endwise adjustment of said blade structure with respect to saidgrader blade supporting frame, means plvotally connecting each of saidbrackets to an associated one of said downwardly extending .members toenable adjustment of the pitch of said blade, one of said rails having aplurality of spaced recesses, and a locking pin mounted for ,axialreciprocation in each of said brackets to engage selecte'd of saidrecesses to lock said blade structure in endwise adjusted position.

5. In a road grading machine. a main frame, a grader blade supportingframe mounted underneath said main frame, said grader blade supportingframe being movably connected at its front to said main frame and beingsuspended at its rear from said main frame by spaced lift links, agrader blade structure including a grader blade and spaced rails rigidlysecured at the back of said blade and extending longitudinally-there of,a pair of brackets on said grader blade sup- 1 porting frame havingguideways in which said said brackets and bearing against each of saidpins in a direction to maintain tight locking engagement when such pinis engaged in a recess, and means providing for retraction of each ofsaid pins against said resilient means.

. CARL A. GUSTAFSON.

